Soil conditioning device

ABSTRACT

A soil conditioning device for use with shank-type field cultivators having at least front and rear rows of shank members with cultivator sweeps secured to the lower ends thereof. The device is attached to each of the shank members in the front row by means of the cultivator sweep attachment bolts extending through the sweep and through a bracket which is positioned at the rearward side of the shank member. An elongated rod is pivotally secured to the bracket and extends rearwardly therefrom between a pair of adjacent sweeps in the rear row. A V-shaped wing means is mounted on the rearward end of the rod and is positioned rearwardly of the adjacent sweeps so that the said sweeps will throw soil upon the wing means as the cultivator is moved through the field. The wing means modifies the ridge pattern that would otherwise be left by the cultivator.

United States Patent [72] lnventor Alton O. Homdrom Ambrose, N. Dak.[21] Appl. No. 805,708

[22] Filed Mar. 10,1969

[45] Patented Jan. 19, 1971 [54] SOIL CONDITIONING DEVICE 9 Claims, 6Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl. 172/193, 172/657, 172/701, 172/720, 172/730 [51] Int. ClA01b 49/02 [50] Field ofSearch 1. 172/193,

Primary Examiner-Robert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-Alan E. KopeckiAttorney-Zarley, McKee and Thomte ABSTRACT: A soil conditioning devicefor use with shanktype field cultivators having at least front and rearrows of shank members with cultivator sweeps secured to the lower endsthereof. The device is attached to each of the shank members in thefront row by means of the cultivator sweep attachment bolts extendingthrough the sweep and through a bracket which is positioned at therearward side of the shank member. An elongated rod is pivotally securedto the bracket and extends rearwardly therefrom between a pair ofadjacent sweeps in the rear row. A V-shaped wing means is mounted on therearward end of the rod and is positioned rearwardly of the adjacentsweeps so that the said sweeps will throw soil upon the wing means asthe cultivator is moved through the field. The wing means modifies theridge pattern that would otherwise be left by the cultivator.

SOIIL CONDITIONING DEVICE Heavy duty field cultivators of the shank typeare usually equipped with rather large sweeps arranged in two or threespaced-apart and staggered rows. These cultivators leave an extremelydeep ridge pattern which makes it quite uncomfortable to the tractoroperator during subsequent field operations. It is often necessary toattempt to level theridge pattern somewhat by means of a drag harrow orthe like. The use of a drag harrow or the like does aid in levelling theridge pattern but also flattens the trash and soil ridges to such anextent that necessary soilprotection is sacrificed. The deep ridgepattern referred to above also makes it more difficult to prepare aproper seed bed.

Therefore, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a soilconditioning device for field cultivators which modifies the ridgepattern left thereby.

A.further object of this invention is to provide a soil conditioningdevice I for. use with field-type cultivators which reducesthediscomfort to the tractor operator during subsequent fieldoperations.

A' furtherobject of this invention is to provide a soil conditioningdevice for a field cultivator which aids in the preparation of a properseed bed.

A further'object of this invention is to provide a soil conditioningdevice for field cultivators wherein the trashand soil ridges are notflattened.

' A further object of this invention is to provide a soil conditioningdevice for field cultivators which provides a fine ridge pattern witherosion protection. A V A further object of this invention is toprovidea soil conditioning device for field cultivators which is adaptable foruse with a'variety of different types of cultivators.

A further objectof this invention is to provide a soil conditioningdevice for field cultivators which will not become clogged with trash. II

A further object o'f-this invention is to provide a soil conditioningdevice for field cultivators which is held in place by the bolts holdingthe sweep on the cultivator shank.

A furtherobject of this invention is to provide a soil conditioningdevice for field cultivators which includes a universal joint means topermit the device to move vertically and horizontally with respect tothe cultivator.

A further object of this invention is to provide asoilconditioningdevice fora field cultivator which does not add substantially to thedraft of the implement.

A further object of this invention is to provide a soil conditioningdevicefor field cultivators which is easily and quickly 1 secured to thecultivator.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a soilconditioning device for a field cultivator which is economical ofmanufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

This invention consists in the construction, arrangements, andcombination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objectscontemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth,specifically pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top view of one type of field cultivator towhich the soil conditioning devices of this invention may be secured; I

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the device of thisinvention together with the shank and sweep to which the device isattached;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the device illustrating the possible horizontaland vertical movement thereof;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the device;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view as seenalong lines 5-5 of FIG. 4;

and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the soil as it would appear after thecultivator of FIG. 1 has passed therethrough, the broken linesindicating the ridge pattern which would have been or dinarily left by acultivator without the soil conditioning devices attached thereto.

The numeral 10 generally refers to a conventional field cultivator whichispartially illustrated in FIG. land can be seen to include a frontframe member 12 and a rear frame member 14. It should be noted that thecultivator 10 is of conventional construction and could have three framemembers rather than the two frame members as illustrated in FIG. I. Aplurality of spaced-apart shanks 16 are secured to the frame member I2in conventional fashion by mounting brackets 18. Shanks 16 have aconventional cultivator sweep 20secured to the lower end thereof byattachment bolts 22 and 24 extending therethrough. A plurality ofspaced-apart shanks 26 are secured to the frame member 14 inconventional fashion by the mounting brackets 28 and have a cultivatorsweep 30 mounted on the lower end thereof by suitable attachment bolts.It can be seen in FIG. I that the shanks l6 and 26 are staggered withrespect to each other in the manner illustrated therein.

The sol conditioning device of this invention is generally referred toby the reference numeral 32 and includes a mounting bracket 34 which issecured to each of the shanks 16 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Bracket 34includes any arcuate front plate 36 having a pair of openings 38 and 40formed therein adapted to receive the attachment bolts 22 and 24extending therethrough respectively. A pair of spaced-apart supports 42and 44 are secured to plate 36 by welding or the like and ex tendhorizontally therefrom. Support 42 is provided with a pair of openings46 and 48 extending therethrough while support 44 is provided with apair of openings 50 and 52 extending therethrough. An inverted U-shapedyoke 54 is secured to the rearward ends of supports 42 and 44 andextends therebetween as best illustrated in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5. Thebracket 34 is maintained on the shank 16 by means of the nuts 56 and 58being threadably received on the attachment bolts 22 and 24 rearwardlyof the plate 36. Nuts 56 and 58 may be easily tightened by means of animpact wrench or the like.

The numeral 60 refers generally to an elongated member such as a rod orthe like having a universal joint means 62 secured to the forward endthereof. Universal joint means 62 is of conventional construction andhas a vertically disposed axis 64 and a horizontally disposed axis 66. Apair of ears extend forwardly from the universal joint means 62 and havea hollow sleeve 72 secured to the forward ends thereof and extendingtherebetween adapted to receive a pin means 74 therein. 'Member 60 isdetachably secured to the mounting bracket 34 by inserting the pin means74 through opening 48 in support 42, sleeve72 and through opening 52 insupport 44. .If desired, pin means 74 could be inserted through openings46 and 50. Pin means 74 is maintained in the supports 42 and 44 by acotter key 76. A wing means 78 is provided at the rearward end of theelongated member 60 and includes a pair of angularly disposed wing arms80 and 82 which extend upwardly, rearwardly and outwardly with respectto the member 60 as illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. A support plate 85is secured to and extends between the wing arms 80, 82 and the member 60to aid in maintaining the wing arms 80 and 82 in the attitude seen inFIG. 4. While the drawings illustrate the wing means 78 as beingcomprised of a pair of wing arms 80 and 82, it should be noted that wingmeans ,78 could be of solid construction or of the open constructionillustrated in the drawings. The configuration of the wing means 78illustrated in the drawings is the desired or preferred configurationbut the wing means can be altered somewhat with an attendant loss ofefficiency being experienced. A wear pad 84 is secured to the lowerrearward end of elongated member 60 and is provided to increase the lifeof the elongated member 60. When the wear pad 84 becomes worn, it issimply necessary to replace the worn pad 84 with a new one withoutreplacing the entire elongated member 60. Member 60 is also providedwith an upstanding ear 86 intermediate the length thereof which may beconnected to a common lift means or to a single wire to raise the member60 out of engagement with the soil during periods of transport or thelike.

If the devices are to be attached to a cultivator 10 having only tworows of cultivator sweeps provided thereon, the front row of sweeps orshanks should be arranged so that the member 60 extends rearwardly fromthe shank 16 between the shanks 26 on the frame member 14 as illustratedin FIG. 1. lf the device is to be used on cultivators having three rowsof shanks, the shanks should be arranged so that the member 60 extendingfrom a front shank 16 will extend between the shanks mounted on theintermediate and rear rows of shanks. In other words, the shanks on thecultivator should be arranged so that the cultivator sweeps thereon willthrow soil onto the wing means 78 from both sides thereof. The devicesare quickly and easily attached to the front row of shanks by means ofthe attachment bolts 22 and 24 and the devices operate underneath thesoil thrown over them by the cultivator sweeps of the rear row. Theuniversal joint means 62 permits the rearward end of the device to havethe proper horizontal and vertical flexibility while still supportingthe wing means 78 in an upright position. Additionally, the elongatedmember 60 may also pivot in a vertical plane about the pin means 74 tofurther provide sufficient flexibility to the ap' paratus.

FIG. 6 illustrates the ridge pattern which is left by a cultivatorhaving the devices attached and it can be seen that a fine ridge patternis provided. The ridge pattern which is provided by a cultivator havingdevices attached is referred to by the reference numeral 88 while theridge pattern which would otherwise be left by the cultivator isreferred to by the reference numeral 90 and is indicated by broken linesin FIG. 6. lt can be seen in FIG. 6 that the ridge pattern 88 does notcontain the extremely deep valley between the ridges but rather providesa uniform ridge pattern. The ridge pattern 88 makes it easier for thefarmer to prepare a proper seed bed and also eliminates a great amountof the discomfort which is ordinarily experienced by the tractoroperator during subsequent field operations. The soil conditioningdevices of this invention result in a more nearly level tillage areawithout sacrificing necessary erosion protection. The soil conditioningdevice of this invention provides the necessary ridge pattern withouteliminating or flattening the trash and soil ridges which would resultif a drag harrow or other leveling device was used on the field. Thefact that the device operates beneath the soil thrown thereon byadjacent cultivator sweeps eliminates any clogging or plugging problemsbeing encountered with trash or the like. In those situations where thefield is going to be cultivated more than once, it may be that theoperator would desire to use the soil conditioning device of thisinvention only on the last tillage operation. Thus it can be seen that aunique soil conditioning device has been provided which modifies theridge pattern which would ordinarily be left by a conventional fieldcultivator so as to provide a more desirable ridge pattern and which maybe adapted for use with a variety of different cultivators. lt ispossible to provide the desired ridge pattern without passing a dragharrow thereover. The devices disclosed herein add very littleadditional draft to the cultivator inasmuch as very little resistance iscreated by the elongated member 60 or by the wing means 78 moving thesail laterally therefrom. Thus it can be seen that the deviceaccozrrgxlkh-es at least all of its stated objectives.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my soilconditioning device without departing from the real spirit and purposeof my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, anymodified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which maybe reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. In combination with a cultivator device having at least first andsecond forwardly and rearwardly spaced frame members transverselydisposed to the direction of travel, a plurality of spaced-apart andstaggered shank members secured to and extending downwardly from saidframe members. a cultivator sweep means secured to the lower end of eachof said shank members, the improvement comprising:

a bracket means detachably secure to the rearward end of at least someof the shank members on the said first frame member;

an elongated member having rearward and forward ends and being connectedat its forward end to said bracket means and extending rearwardlytherefrom; and

means at the rearward end of said elongated member positioned behind therearmost sweep means and adapted to pass through the soil to form amodified ridge pattern from that formed by the said sweep means.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said elongated member is pivotallysecured about a horizontal axis to said bracket means.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said elongated member has auniversal joint means secured thereto adjacent its forward end, saiduniversal joint means having a vertically disposed pivotal axis and ahorizontally disposed pivotal axis to permit said means at the rearwardend of said elongated member to move horizontally and vertically withrespect to said bracket means.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means on the rearward end ofsaid elongated member is comprised of a V- shaped wing means extendingupwardly, rearwardly and outwardly therefrom.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein a wear pad is secured to saidelongated member beneath the lower rearward end thereof.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said bracket means includes afirst plate means complementary in shape to the rearward end of saidshank member and being positioned adjacent thereto, said first platemeans being secured to said shank member by bolt members extendingthrough said sweep means, said shank member and said first plate means,first and second spaced-apart supports secured to said first plate meansand extending rearwardly therefrom, said forward end of said elongatedmember being received between said first and second support and beingsecured thereto.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said elongated member has ahorizontally disposed sleeve at its forward end and wherein a pin meansremovably extends through said first and second supports and saidsleeve, said sleeve being pivotal about a horizontal axis with respectto said pin means.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein a yoke means is secured to andextends between the rearward ends of said first and second supports,said yoke means being in the upward pivotal path of said elongatedmember.

9. The combination of claim 4 wherein said first frame member isdisposed forwardly of said second frame member, said elongated membersextending rearwardly between adjacent pairs of shank members on saidsecond frame member, said wing means being positioned rearwardly of thesweep means on the second frame member whereby the sweep means of saidadjacent pairs of shank members will cause soil to be thrown on saidwing means.

1. In combination with a cultivator device having at least first andsecond forwardly and rearwardly spaced frame members transverselydisposed to the direction of travel, a plurality of spaced-apart andstaggered shank members secured to and extending downwardly from saidframe members, a cultivator sweep means secured to the lower end of eachof said shank members, the improvement comprising: a bracket meansdetachably secured to the rearward end of at least some of the shankmembers on the said first frame member; an elongated member havingrearward and forward ends and being connected at its forward end to saidbracket means and extending rearwardly therefrom; and means at therearward end of said elongated member positioned behind the rearmostsweep means and adapted to pass through the soil to form a modifiedridge pattern from that formed by the said sweep means.
 2. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein said elongated member is pivotallysecured about a horizontal axis to said bracket means.
 3. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein said elongated member has a universaljoint means secured thereto adjacent its forward end, said universaljoint means having a vertically disposed pivotal axis and a horizontallydisposed pivotal axis to permit said means at the rearward end of saidelongated member to move horizontally and vertically with respect tosaid bracket means.
 4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means onthe rearward end of said elongated member is comprised of a V-shapedwing means extending upwardly, rearwardly and outwardly therefrom. 5.The combination of claim 4 wherein a wear pad is secured to saidelongated member beneath the lower rearward end thereof.
 6. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein said bracket means includes a first platemeans complementary in shape to the rearward end of said shank memberand being positioned adjacent thereto, said first plate means beingsecured to said shank member by bolt members extending through saidsweep means, said shank member and said first plate means, first andsecond spaced-apart supports secured to said first plate means andextending rearwardly therefrom, said forward end of said elongatedmember being received between said first and second support and beingsecured thereto.
 7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said elongatedmember has a horIzontally disposed sleeve at its forward end and whereina pin means removably extends through said first and second supports andsaid sleeve, said sleeve being pivotal about a horizontal axis withrespect to said pin means.
 8. The combination of claim 7 wherein a yokemeans is secured to and extends between the rearward ends of said firstand second supports, said yoke means being in the upward pivotal path ofsaid elongated member.
 9. The combination of claim 4 wherein said firstframe member is disposed forwardly of said second frame member, saidelongated members extending rearwardly between adjacent pairs of shankmembers on said second frame member, said wing means being positionedrearwardly of the sweep means on the second frame member whereby thesweep means of said adjacent pairs of shank members will cause soil tobe thrown on said wing means.